Volkswagen has fully revealed the ID Polo, the electric version of its long-running small hatch, and the entry price lands just under €25,000. That base spec pairs a 37 kWh LFP battery with a 10-to-80 percent charge time of 27 minutes. Move to the 52 kWh NMC battery and that drops to 24 minutes at a 105 kW DC peak, with 11 kW AC charging available on both variants. The most powerful version on offer produces 211 horsepower on a front-wheel drive platform. Volkswagen rates the big-battery car at 450 km under the WLTP cycle. Real-world motorway driving, extrapolated from experience with the related Cupra Raval, puts the practical highway range at around 300 km, or roughly 190 miles.
The ID Polo shares a production line with the Cupra Raval, though the two diverge sharply on character. The Raval is the sportier, more visually aggressive option inside and out. The Polo takes a deliberate step back toward simplicity, which VW frames as a return to the spirit of the original Golf: reduced to what matters, with everything in the right place. That shows up in the details. Physical climate dials are back. Real steering wheel buttons return with good clicking feedback. The 13-inch infotainment screen is complemented by a 10-inch instrument cluster that can display retro Golf 1 and Golf 2-style analog gauges as a selectable mode. Door handles are classic pull types, no fins or flush mechanisms required. A GTI variant with DCC adaptive suspension is confirmed for later.
Autogefühl's Thomas runs through the full range of trims over 24 minutes of footage, including back-to-back seat time in both the Style high trim and the €24,900 base spec. The Style trim arrives with matrix LED headlights, a light strip running across the front, an illuminated VW logo front and rear, and 18-inch alloy wheels as standard. Trunk space is 440 liters, with a two-position adjustable floor and a deep lower compartment large enough to store a charging cable. No frunk is available: the front-mounted climate compressor takes up that space, though the upcoming ID Cross SUV sibling is expected to get one. The base trim loses the light strip, adjustable trunk floor, and electric seat adjustment, but Thomas found the base fabric seats genuinely comfortable and the fixed roof preferable in hot weather.
Bottom line: The ID Polo lands where the market has needed an affordable EV hatchback for a while. The return to physical controls isn't a gimmick at this price point, it's the point. At €24,900 fully equipped is a harder sell, but the entry version is more complete than many expected.